I just learned about Factors and Multiples, a shelter-at-home game that’s engaging as solitaire and can be played as a two-person game either cooperatively or competitively. (I’ve played it both ways.) It’s intriguing for both adults and kids (as long as players know about factors and multiples of numbers up to 100). It’s a keeper.
Looking for an easy-to-play game that requires only the ability to count to 20, but has a real mathematical kick? Here it is. Teach it to your kids at home or to your students online to play with someone at home. Read on for the rules and some tips, including how to tweak the game to keep kids interested and challenged.
Riddles are usually a hit with kids, and with many at home and sheltering in place (as I am), diversions can be helpful. When rummaging through my book shelves, I found a book that I wrote in 1981―The Hink Pink Book. I wrote it shortly after I first learned about Hink Pink riddles, and also about Hinky Pinky and Hinkety Pinkety riddles. I think these riddles are good for some language play for kids at home, with a little math thrown in.
The card game Oh No! 99! is a keeper! It gives practice with mentally adding one- and two-digit numbers and with adding and subtracting 10 from two-digit numbers. The game encourages strategic thinking as students decide which cards to play and which to keep, and it’s also useful as an informal assessment. Read about how the game was used with second and fifth graders.
Will Multiplication Bingo guarantee that students learn the multiplication facts? No. But it will help familiarize them with factors and multiples, engage them in a game that involves both luck and strategy, encourage them to make conjectures, and have them use data to guide decisions. Plus, the game provides a way to send home information to families about how their children are being asked to think and reason in math class.
I like the multiplication game of Pathways. It engages students’ interest, helps develop their familiarity with the times table, and encourages them to think strategically. It's been a part of my teaching for a long time. Recently I came up with a way to introduce the game that made it easier for students to learn to play. It was a huge success. Read about what I did and how the students reacted.
At a math workshop, the presenter suggested that students have opportunities to be producers as well as consumers of their learning in the classroom. I put this advice into action with fifth graders, using the activity of Fix It to provide students additional experience with comparing and ordering fractions.